So WHY EAT Hog Jowl, Black-Eye Peas, Collard Greens and Cornbread on New Year's Day

Jan 1, 2014 | Yosemitest

[Yosemitest]

My brother's wife wanted to know the history behind the southern tradition of the New Year's Day meal, and that started a search.
I thought I'd share it with you.

First, let me show you What hog jowl is, is, by J.A. Bolton Storyteller





I hope your family will be enjoying the traditional meal of collards, black-eyed peas, hog jowl and cornbread for New Year’s Day.
I thought in today’s column I would try to explain some of the folklore and customs behind the delicious meal we observe here in the south on New Year’s.

I probably need to explain what a hog jowl is.
Some of our Yankee friends have never heard of this cut of pork.
It’s the cheek of the hog.
It tastes and cooks similar to thick cut bacon.
It’s a tough cut that is typically smoked and cured.
Hog jowl is used to season beans and peas or fried like bacon.

Hogs and pigs have long been a symbol of wealth and gluttony.
It’s why we say “someone is being a pig” when they take more than their share.
Some people believe that

the more pork you eat for New Year’s,
the better your luck will be in the coming year.

So WHY hog jowl?
The short answer is that we eat cured pork because it’s winter time.
Hog jowl is a cured meat which stores well over long periods and it’s always been cheap.
Plus it goes well with black-eyed peas and collard greens.

Most southerners will tell you that the humble black-eye dates back to the Civil War.
Black-eye peas were considered as animal feed (pea vine hay).
When General Sherman’s Union troops came through, it was said that
what they couldn’t use they burnt.
Lucky for the south the Union Army didn’t know much about the black-eye peas,
and that’s what southern people lived off of for the winter.
Peas became a symbol of coppers or pennies.
My folks said that for every pea you ate, it would bring you a penny.
Folks say you should eat exactly 365 peas on New Year’s
if’n you want enough to make it through the coming year.
If you ate more it would mean
you would lose one for as many days.
I reckon it all goes back to making a pig of yourself.

Want to get rich this year?
Here in the south, collard greens and cornbread bring in the big bucks.
Collards are a late crop and are mostly grown here in the south.
Heard the saying “boil them cabbage down” ?
The same goes for collards since it’s part of the cabbage family.
The traditional way to cook collards
is to strip the leaves from the stem of the collard leaves,
wash several times,
cut up and place them in a big pot with bits of hog jowl or a ham hock.
When tender, remove from the pot and drain off the pot licker.
I’ll tell you more about the pot licker in another story.

For the best cornbread,
use a cup of self rising cornmeal,
half cup of flour,
a pinch of sugar and salt,
one egg,
half cup of milk nd a handful of pork cracklins.
Mix all the ingredients together.
Grease an old cast iron frying pan and place it in an oven at 400 degrees.
Cook for about 20 minutes but turn over after 10 minutes.
It should come out golden brown on both sides.

I know the doctor is going to say that eating this way will run up your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, but what the heck.
You need to start off enjoying the New Year.
Don’t forget that
pork is for luck,
peas for pennies,
collard greens for dollars
and cornbread for gold.



Hope you have a happy and prosperous new year

and don’t forget to live, ... love ... and laugh.

Now for a recipe from Black-Eyed Peas and Hog Jowl - New Year's Day Tradition .

This is not culinary masterpiece. Having it once a year will be fine for most.
But, it’s tradition, fun to do, and it's for good luck. It can't hurt.
I served mine with some picked onions I made a year or so back.

Ingredients
1 small slab of Hog Jowl
1 15 ounce can Black-Eyed Peas
Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper

Cut the hog jowl into thin bacon like strips.
In a large skillet, fry hog jowl over medium low to medium heat until desired doneness and crispness.
Place hog jowl on a platter lined with paper towel to drain.
During this time, heat black eyes peas in a sauce pan over medium heat until hot.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves good luck for 365 days



I find hog howl in a whole piece.
But, I have read on other blogs where they have found it pre-sliced.
I have never found it that way.
If you slightly freeze your hog jowl, it will make slicing it a little easier – about 20 minutes in your freezer.
You will get a good amount of fat renderings from the hog jowl and if you fry it too hot a lot of smoke.


Here's the Southern Style Collard Greens
But I disagree with their cooking time for good greens, because 45 minutes is just too short, and I recommend about 2 and one half to three hours cooking time, with a little splash of apple vinegar.
Click on the link to get it,
and if the greens taste too strong, just dump the water, rinse them, and add new water and cook a little longer.



You can find Southern-Style Cornbread here.

And you can get some stone ground whole corn meal here or here at Kymulga Grist Mill.

[GeronL]

They taste like dirt to me, I eat as little of it as possible. I think they need to call it was originally, cattle feed.

[Mercat]

I’ve done black eye peas, darling, dry, fresh, home grown and canned. They all are just something I eat on New Year’s Day because I have to. This year I did dried great northern white beans with ham hock and veggies and it was wonderful and added the black eyed peas at the end.

[mrsmith]

In this SW corner of VA the tradition is raisin pie, cabbage and black-eyed peas.

Hog jowl, who could afford hog jowls?

[Yosemitest]

You didn’t wash and rinse them enough?

[Yosemitest]

Raisin Pie?
Seems like I've had that before, when I was in Seymour Johnson AFB, NC.
But there was another raisin dish we enjoyed a lot.
Grated carrots on a cheese grater are better than chunked squares.

Super-Light Ambrosia Salad (carrot, raisin, apple and yogurt)

[GeronL]

It’s just how they taste to me. I guess I just prefer pinto beans.

[Vendome]

Dangit

[Yosemitest]

Okay, if you insist.
Start with fresh okra, and slice it to the thickness you like, or frozen okra.
Get a pot of boiling water going, with a small amount of butter melted in it.
Boil the sliced okra until it just starts to soften, and you can test it with a fork, but don't let it get too soft.
Now drain it and put a large iron skillet on the stove and melt in the Crisco shortening, or oil of your choice, but I like butter, real butter.
Once the butter, oil, or shortening melts, turn your skillet heat to about 2 or lower.
Now take your drained and slightly boiled sliced okra and ease it into your hot skillet, so as not to splatter yourself with hot grease, oil, or butter.
You've got to tend this closely so as not to burn it and you'll have to add more butter, oil, or shortening from time to time.
When you hear it start to sizzle, take a spatula and gently turn the okra over, and after about 10 or 15 minutes, when most of the water has steamed out, sprinkle in your cornmeal/flour mix (I use half and half mix and usually beat in one egg as I stir it into a well blended mix) a little at a time, and then turn the okra again.
Let it slow fry for about 10 minutes and add a little more meal and add butter, oil, or shortening as needed.
Just don't let it burn.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and chopped onions to taste, or mild green chilies.
I've known some people who'll chop up a green tomato or two and stir it into the fry mix, but don't add green tomatoes into the boil before the frying stage.
They'll get too soft and mushy.
Keep this routine up until you've got the mix fried like you like it.

It'll take you a few time of doing this before you get it right, but you'll learn.
The main thing is ~ to have fun, and cook it to your taste.

[Yosemitest]

One other thing.
That okra is pan fried, and not deep fried, so add your butter, oil or shortening a little at a time.
Make it only about 1/4 inch deep at most before you put your okra in.
It'll take a few tries before you get this right, but you'll learn.

[Liz]

Hmmmmmmm......hog jowls? I dont think so. I hasten to say I adore Southern food.
They really know how to cook up a storm. Now this is what I like about the South.
Southern Cornbread Dressing is skillet-baked buttermilk cornbread and leftover buttermilk biscuits.
Yields two 9×13 dishes of dressing. Eaten with a drizzle of giblet gravy.

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING

Ing 1 full recipe Southern Buttermilk Cornbread 3 piece sliced sandwich bread or 3 buttermilk biscuits 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon rubbed sage optional 3 large eggs 1 medium onion diced 2 stalks celery diced 1/2 cup butter sliced 4 cups cream of chicken soup 6 cups chicken stock

METHOD Crumble cornbread and biscuits (or white bread slices) into a large bowl. Add s/p, eggs, onion, celery, butter, cream of chicken soup, and chicken stock. Stir until well-combined. Pour dressing into two 9x13 baking dishes and bake until lightly browned, 350 deg 30 - 45 minutes. To test doneness, shake casserole dish lightly. If the center of the dressing moves, then the dressing is not cooked through in the center; bake until the dressing is set throughout.

CHEF'S TIPS Tips: – Make cornbread for your dressing the day before. Wrap it up tightly until ready to mix your dressing. – Mix up all of your dressing up to two days ahead of the big day. Wrap it up tightly and place in your refrigerator. – Freezer-Friendly – prepare without baking up to two weeks in advance, wrap tightly and freeze. Thaw in refrigerator two days in advance and bake on Thanksgiving Day. Day of tips: – Bake your dressing early in the morning and then place in the refrigerator. While your turkey is resting, place your dressing back in the oven to thoroughly reheat.

[AppyPappy]

5 years of good cooking. BEP’s soaked overnight. Ready to start cooking.

[AppyPappy]

Fry the okra until slimy. Put in a pyrex dish and bake.

[Yosemitest]

Or, after the okra gets slimy, make you some cornbread mix, then sprinkle it in on top of the slimy okra, and occasionally turn it over to brown the cornbread mix in with the slimy okra.
As the skillet gets too dry, add more butter to keep it from burning.
Cook it to the texture you like.

[Wdempsey]

Pork roast and sauerkraut

[CFW]

I’m doing cabbage, cornbread, and pork (though not hog jowls) for New Years. The cornbread will be cooked in my late mother’s divided cornbread iron skillet. I’ll cook it this evening and it will be our meal for supper tonight with the left-overs for tomorrow. I’m not sure about the luck it will bring but it sure is a dang delicious meal!